Larry Wilmore

2018 Outstanding Television Writer Award Recipient

Emmy Award winner Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian, and writer for morethan 25 years. He can currently be heard as host of Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air on The Ringer PodcastNetwork. The show features Wilmore’s unique mix of humor and wit as he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond.

Wilmore is perhaps best known for his role as host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, which debuted in January 2015 and ran for nearly two years. Wilmore received praise from critics for carving out a “uniquely powerful space” and providing “complex, destabilizing commentary on racial issues that were otherwise lacking in late-night” (Slate, 8/16). The Daily Beast added that Wilmore’s show was “exhilarating” and a “necessary voice in late-night” (8/16).

Off-screen, Wilmore serves as co-creator and consulting producer on HBO’s Insecure, a half-hour comedy series starring Issa Rae that details the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman. Wilmore also helped to launch ABC’s Black-ish as an executive producer.

Previously, Wilmore made memorable appearances as the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and hosted his own Showtime “town hall”-style comedy specials, Larry Wilmore’s Race, Religion & Sex. He has written for In Living Color, The PJ’s (which he co-created), The Office (on which he has appeared as Mr. Brown, the diversity consultant), and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also served as creator, writer, and executive producer of The Bernie Mac Show, which earned him a 2002 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” and a 2001 Peabody Award.

In April 2016, Wilmore hosted the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC.Wilmore released his first book, I'd Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts, in January 2009.